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When words fail

The relationship between music and other forms of art – painting, video art and cinema most importantly - has become increasingly important. How do you see this relationship yourself and in how far, do you feel, does music relate to other senses than hearing alone? 

Mike: The visual arts as well as cinema have always inspired and influenced my music; however, when it comes to combining media it can be tricky. I think it works well when it’s balanced, one medium submitting to the other and intertwining rather than slapping some moving pictures on a screen while a band plays a set of songs. Zelienople has worked with our filmmaker friend, Donald Prokop, collaborating on film and music for performance and for his short films. 

Our recent collaborative performance with Mind Over Mirrors and Donald’s film at Issue Project Room in New York was last year’s highlight live experience for me. We faced the screen, which was the only light source in the theatre, and we responded musically to the images, using them as improvisation signifiers. Donald’s film didn’t have a linear narrative but it followed an abstract path, leaving it pretty open to interpretation for us, as well as for the audience. Because his edits slowly unfolded, it wasn’t necessary for all of us to be watching and reacting to every minute of the film; it was give and take, the image and music naturally flowed into each other. 

As for music relating to the other senses, I definitely feel music, literally, through the vibrations. Personally, I prefer to close my eyes when listening to music as a way to avoid distractions; however that isn't to say that I don't “see” images of what I'm hearing in my mind.  

Matt: I don't know. When I'm having the best of times, I'm only listening to the music. I like to be only doing that one thing.

There seem to be two fundamental tendencies in music today: On the one hand, a move towards complete virtualisation, where tracks and albums are merely released as digital files. And, on the other, an even closer union between music, artwork, packaging and physical presentation. Where do you stand between these poles?   

Mike: I love the album as an object; the artwork looks phenomenal on that 12”x12” square. Whenever I’m working on an album, be it solo or with other group projects, I instinctively start to associate images with the sounds and begin coming up with album art before the record is even finished. I’m still enthralled with the physical motion of the record on a turntable, it’s just as fascinating to me as it was when I was a kid spinning my brother’s Led Zeppelin and Heart records. 

I also really like that there is a time limitation to one side of vinyl, it kind of requires a more active, dedicated form of listening which is an experience that you don’t necessarily get with the casual playing of music while working on something else simultaneously. It's similar to meditation in that it's a focused act of attention. That said, I love my iPod, I use it to fall asleep every night and I use it while I'm driving.  

Matt: I agree with Mike. I think that a vinyl jacket is a really good size for a piece of art. But, I can't fit two weeks of music into that record and play it wherever I want. 

The role of an artist is always subject to change. What's your view on the (e.g. political/social/creative) tasks of artists today and how do you try to meet these goals in your work? 

Mike: For my own work and the work that I respond to in others, I find that honesty in creation is the most important role of the artist. I think people look to the arts for a truth that cannot be explained in daily language. There's a transmission that occurs when a performance or a recording really hits you, but it might be difficult to explain this feeling, you just understand it as is. It's akin to when a Buddhist monk is asked a question and deciding that words will fail as an answer, he just holds up a finger or slams his hand down on the desk. Language is a concept that can only get you so far; this is where art comes in to help. This is our role.  

Matt: I don't really think about these things as they relate to my own music. One thing that I try to do as a musician is convince other people to play who want to play, but who have been conditioned to think that they first need to learn a formal method.

Music-sharing sites and -blogs as well as a flood of releases in general are presenting both listeners and artists with challenging questions. What's your view on the value of music today? In what way does the abundance of music change our perception of it? Matt: I think that it's mostly good. When you have a 15 year old starting trends in his bedroom with a laptop, it's kind of cool. There's a lot of music out there, and yes, it's really hard to keep up with all of it, but who says that you have to? 

How, would you say, could non-mainstream forms of music reach wider audiences? 

Mike: I’m seeing less of an effort to bridge the genre divides with regards to concert bills and collaboration these days. Somewhere along the way I think promoters, artists, club owners, etc., decided it draws less of a crowd to mix up the billing. I think this is a missed opportunity of presenting a type of music to people that wouldn’t normally seek it out or might not even be aware that it exists. I think there's a tendency to find a comfort zone of like-mindedness to secure a “built in” audience, I'm guilty of it as well. Reaching an audience that wouldn't normally come out to see an experimental act isn't completely out of the realms of possibility, it’s more about providing the opportunity. 

Last year following a free, public performance of Steve Reich's, “Drumming” at a park in downtown Chicago, I was chatting with the guy running the merchandise table and he was suddenly overwhelmed with a line of people eager to get a recording of what they just heard and to learn more about what the hell it was they just experienced. Steve Reich is more palatable than say Merzbow, but it's a gateway, right? I've met a lot of fans of experimental music whose introduction was Radiohead or Tortoise. I think it helps to be informative rather than combative when someone has harsh opinions concerning experimental music. I’m reminded of my twenty-year old self when a friend played me Coltrane’s, “Om” and I was absolutely disgusted by it, now it’s one of my favourite Coltrane albums.  

Matt: They could reach a wider audience by becoming more mainstream. It's supply and demand. 

Usually, it is considered that it is the job of the artist to win over an audience. But listening is also an active, rather than just a passive process. How do you see the role of the listener in the musical communication process? 

Mike: Our music is pretty subtle so when it’s presented in a bar or club setting where there are other distractions like socializing, drinking, texting, etc. it can be a little difficult to compete for the attention of the audience. I don’t want to go out of my way to “win over” someone’s attention or attempt to prove that I’m worthy of it, nor would I impose instructions on how to properly listen to our music. 

Based on my experiences as an audience member as well as a performer, I do think that when a listener is tuned in to a performance he/she will have a more meaningful experience as will the performer. When I attend a concert I just listen and try not to do anything else. I turn off the endless skull-chatter, turn off the smart phone, turn off the mental critic and just listen.  

One of the things that art can do is bring us to a way of seeing the world or showing something about ourselves that we haven’t seen before. But in order for this to occur a listener needs to meet the art halfway and open up to the experience. A great example of this is when I casually listen to a Scott Walker album while I'm busy with some other activity. It's one of the most annoying sounds to hear this way. But if I sit still and pay attention, listening without distractions, it's outstanding; I begin to understand his work.  

Matt: For me, it has to grab me first, and then I can proceed to poke around the music for more. I really wouldn't want to impose a job on my listeners.  

Reaching audiences usually involves reaching out to the press and possibly working with a PR company. What's your perspective on the promo system? In which way do music journalism and PR companies change the way music is perceived by the public?  

Matt: We have almost no experience with professional PR, and we've been lucky enough to have people put our music out and fans have found us. There's a lot that we could have done to better promote ourselves, but that was just never something that we did for whatever reason. I used to think that self promotion was a betrayal of true art, but I don't think that any more.  

Please recommend two artists to our readers which you feel deserve their attention. 

Mike: Tatsuya Nakatani. Talk about a guy who is personally bringing “non-mainstream forms of music to reach a wider audience.” He travels across the country by himself in a van with his collection of gongs and hardware, that he welds himself, arrives in a town the day of the show, gathers a group of people, including non-musicians, to form his Gong Orchestra for that specific night. He sets up a quick workshop on playing gongs and teaches them his way of conducting which looks like Tai Chi, and then they perform that night. The performers invite their friends and family and suddenly there’s a crowd coming out to see an avant-garde performance of a gong orchestra. Taiga recently released an album of two of these performances.

The other artist I think deserves more attention even though he died a few years ago is the Shaman musician from Korea, Kim Seok Chul. There was a documentary made about the search for him called,  Intangible Asset No. 82. The only CD that is readily available is  Shamans of the Eastern Seaboard.  

Matt: Mind Over Mirrors, and I wish that someone would force our keyboard player, Donn Ha to release a record.

Keep up with the happenings of Zelienople at zelienopleband.com

 

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